Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light

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Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light
El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

This in alternate version of a photograph of this scene that I shared earlier. It was the first subject I photographed on a very long day when I arose before 3:00AM, drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Yosemite, photographed all day, and drove back at night, arriving home after midnight. After nearly four hours of driving I entered the Valley and stopped here, where the view opens up for the first time. At this early hour it was still quiet and the morning light was slanting through the thin haze between me and El Capitan.

You might wonder, “Why two versions of the same subject?” A complete answer would take more than a paragraph, but here are a few quick thoughts. Sometimes someone needs the photograph in a particular format, so in cases where the subject can work two ways I make portrait and landscaper orientation versions. Sometimes I just want to see how to make the subject “work” both ways… and then I may end up liking both options!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest and Tower, Afternoon

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Forest and Tower, Afternoon
Gentle afternoon haze and soft spring light on forest and granite towers, Yosemite Valley.

Forest and Tower, Afternoon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Gentle afternoon haze and soft spring light on forest and granite towers, Yosemite Valley.

The main visual aspect of Yosemite Valley, I think, is of massive, iconic formations in combinations that would be almost impossible to imagine: a dome sliced in half, waterfalls launching from the edges of cliffs thousands of feet above the valley, incomprehensibly massive expanses of granite, the u-shaped form with a carpet of trees at the bottom. But more subtle things characterize the place, too: the back-lit afternoon haze, cloud shadows moving ac ross the landscape, trees and meadows next to the river, and more.

The location is a bit west of the most popular parts of the Valley, wheres a beautiful small meadow provides more open views of the surroundings. The meadow that can be more of a lake in the snow melt season when the nearby Merced river rises. This spot was almost the final stop on my recent one-day visit to the Valley, and there I found multiple subjects to photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

First View

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First View
Morning view of Yosemite Valley’s El Capitan and Ribbon Fall on a spring morning.

First View. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning view of Yosemite Valley’s El Capitan and Ribbon Fall on a spring morning.

There are several stories about how I came to this spot earlier this week. One starts decades ago, but I’ll begin with a shorter one. Up at 2:50AM and on the road minutes later, I began the drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to Yosemite Valley in darkness. I had considered a sunrise arrival, but that would have meant being on the road around 1:00AM — which wasn’t going to happen. So the sky began to lighten out in the Great Valley, and the sun rose while I was in Merced Canyon. This scene was in front of me when I finally stopped, shortly after turning onto Southside Drive in the Valley.

Of course, the full story of “how I got here” is much, much longer. It started decades ago when I was five years old and my parents relocated to California from the Midwest. Soon after our arrival we went to Yosemite — I don’t know the exact year, but it must have been not long after my fifth birthday. I’ve been to this place many times over those years, and I expanded my experience to the greater Sierra. On this visit I thought a lot about how my relationship to this Valley has changed, and I hope to write a bit more about that in the next few weeks.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Forest and Fog

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Coastal Forest and Fog
Coastal forest and morning fog, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Coastal Forest and Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Coastal forest and morning fog, Point Lobos State Reserve.

When people imagine visiting the California coast, I’m pretty sure that most of them envision a beach, blue water, surf, clear skies, and abundant sun. That happens, in some locations more than others, but coastal fog is about as likely as that fantasy weather. It can be cold and damp and gray, but this California weather also has its charms — the sound of surf coming up through the fog, the chill air, the muted colors.

This photograph comes from a visit to a location south of Monterey on a very foggy morning. Most often the fog clears out early, but this time it stuck around all morning. (Though a short distance inland the sun was out.) I pointed the camera into a forest of fall trees, and the fog created a sense of atmospheric recession.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.